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Planning Commission - 05/08/2017 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Travis Wuttke, Ann Higgins, Charles Weber, Andrew Pieper, Ed Farr, Mark Freiberg, Michael DeSanctis, Christopher Villareal CITY STAFF: Beth Novak-Krebs, Senior Planner Rod Rue, City Engineer Matt Bourne, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Chair Pieper called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL Weber was absent. IIII. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by Higgins, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 8-0. IV. MINUTES A. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON APRIL 24, 2017 Wuttke had a change on page 3,paragraph 5, last sentence. He would like it to read, "Wuttke stated there appears to be more risk on the developers." Wuttke had a change on page 4,paragraph 9, first sentence. He would like it to read, "Wuttke stated again his concern with the other entities pushing for changes to the city's ordinances." MOTION: Wuttke moved, seconded by Farr, to approve the amended Planning Commission minutes dated April 24, 2017. Motion carried 8-0. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES May 8, 2017 Page 2 V. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS VI. PUBLIC MEETINGS VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. HUELER PROPERTY Location: 12300 Riverview Road Request for: • Preliminary Plat of one lot into three lots on 4.46 acres Dan Blake, consultant representing the owners, presented the proposal. Mr. Blake gave an overview of the site and showed a diagram of the property from 1937 for history of the site and compared it to a current aerial photograph. He showed where the current house is and stated it will remain on the property. He pointed out the site is slopped, meeting the definition for steep slope. There are no wetlands on the property. There are a lot of native oaks and cedar trees on the property, along with a lot of buck thorn. Mr. Blake said the site is very large but does come with a lot of issues. They had thought of constructing multifamily villas and 5 single family lots on the property but felt it would not work for the site, so that is where they came up with the plan to have three fairly large lots on the property. Mr. Blake pointed out the three lots would meet the zoning requirements. They are not sure what size the houses will be,but know they will be larger. The existing driveway, where the current house is located, will remain. The road running north to south will be rebuilt as sewer and water will be added to the area. He stated staff wanted him look at flag lots,but he felt they would retain more flexibility if they did not go with that type of lot. Mr. Blake pointed out the staff report has a lot of conditions and said they are in agreement with those. He also stated they had a neighborhood meeting and only four homeowners came. They were mainly interested in what type of housing was going to be built in the area. Mr. Blake said he did not know the exact price point of the homes but knew they would be larger. DeSanctis asked about the heritage trees on the property and how will they be protected during construction. Mr. Blake said the construction will not impact the heritage trees. He also pointed out because of the steep slopes, each lot will have its own land alteration permit. Chair Pieper asked Novak-Krebs to review the staff report. Novak-Krebs said this is consistent with the zoning and guide plan. She did say it is a unique site. It is slopped and wooded. There is a bluff and there may be archeological artifacts on the site.. There are a number of conditions listed in the staff report because of timing of the development and the need to make sure the responsibilities and other details were carefully planned. Staff is recommending approval based on the conditions in the staff report. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES May 8, 2017 Page 3 Chair Pieper opened the meeting up for public input. Paul Schnebel, a resident in the area, said he is concerned with the project and pointed out he never received a neighborhood meeting letter. He stated ten years ago, 10 to 12 homes were to be developed on this property but could not because of run-off and he would like to know what has changed since then. He also stated the driveway on this site is right by his fence. Mr. Schnebel asked what the time frame for this property would be. Chair Pieper asked Mr. Schnebel where his home is located. Mr. Schnebel said it is located north of lot 3. Mr. Blake said the final plat has to be submitted within two years. Chair Pieper asked if notices were sent out to all the neighbors. Mr. Blake said he would look at the list again,but he did get that list from city staff, which uses the information from Hennepin County. DeSanctis asked what would be the engineering practices used to protect the soil on the bluffs from heavy rain. Mr. Blake said he does not have a specific answer but that is why they are not building many houses and trying to retain the trees and land cover. Kirk asked for city staff s viewpoint of a steep slope and pre-cautions. Rue said there will be a steep slope permit which will entail more engineering. Wuttke asked what the delineations of steep slopes are for this property. Rue said anything over 12% would be considered steep, which is most of the property. What constitutes a bluff is a 30% grade on a bluff with a height of 25 feet or more. These are standards developed by the Department of Natural Resources. Kirk commented the city staff has done a good job with stringent requirements and the developer has done a good job with the placement of lots. Farr asked about Riverview Road right-of-way and is there a reason why this would not be made into a private drive and vacate the right of way. In the preliminary plat there are no connecting utilities to units one and two. Rue said Riverview Road needs access to the river bottom. The right of way has been established for 100 years so it will stay as is. In regards to the driveway easement, they are working on that. The easement is also consistent with the City's standards. Mr. Blake said in regards to the normal utilities easements and drainage easements; they will serve one lot at a time. There will be no infrastructure there. Freiberg said he was previously on the Heritage Preservation Commission and asked what if something historical or significant was found on site. Novak-Krebs said if it is significant it would most likely just impact the grading of the storm water management facility through the land alteration permit, the city can require protection of the foundation during grading. Higgins concurred with Novak-Krebs. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES May 8, 2017 Page 4 Farr said he heard the home that is on site was called historical and asked if that was noted somewhere. Higgins said it was not noted anywhere. She also commented there is typically very little left of these remnants as they have all been washed away by water. She does not anticipate anything major being found. Kirk commented it sounded like homework has been done for this project. Chair Pieper concurred with Kirk's comment and added it is a good project. MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by DeSanctis to close the public hearing. Motion carried 8-0. MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded Freiberg to recommend approval of Preliminary Plat of one lot into three lots on 4.46 acres based on information outlined in the Staff Report dated May 4, 2017 and the plans stamp dated April 27, 2017. Motion carried 8-0. VIII. PLANNERS' REPORT There was no Planners' report IX. MEMBERS' REPORT Wuttke asked in regards to tonight's public hearing, since there were no deviations from code why would there be 23 bullet points of recommendations. Freiberg stated he considered it to be a cautious approach because it's a unique site. X. CONTINUING BUSINESS XI. NEW BUSINESS XII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Freiberg moved, seconded by Higgins, to adjourn the Planning Commission meeting. Motion carried 8-0. Chair Pieper adjourned the meeting at 7:58 p.m.